A consensus solution is difficult to uncover partly because the source of the problem is rooted in students' pre-Amherst academic experience. As a result, the College's commitment to admitting students from every possible background holds the possibility of bringing under-prepared students into the College. No one claims that Amherst should change its admissions focus, so we must determine the College's role in helping students write at the level expected by its professors.
To the administration's credit, the College has addressed this issue by adding pilot writing-intensive courses to the catalog and fostering faculty discussion. However, help will be needed in the form of more than a few new course offerings. Faculty have proposed ideas ranging from required courses for students identified as poor writers, intensifying first-year seminars, implementing a summer writing program (similar to the successful summer science program) and hiring faculty specifically to teach writing courses. Each of these ideas has found opposition, notably from professors who feel that labeling students as "poor writers" will stigmatize them.
We feel that this fear is cut from the same cloth as grade inflation, which can mask a poor writer's need for improvement with the "gentleman's B+." We realize, however, that the solution will require more than simply alerting students to their flaws. We commend the administration for testing new courses, but even more needs to be done. Poor writing is the result of years of inadequate instruction and it can not be overcome with a single class over the course of a semester (even a more writing intensive first-year seminar). Implementing a summer writing program for incoming first-year students would be a good start, but even this would be problematic due to issues of identifying those in need and limited time during the busy months before college begins. Therefore, we would like to see a similar program offered during Interterm which could accommodate students of every year.
Summer and Interterm programs would be valuable, providing low-pressure environments. They are also preferable to programs or courses offered during the school year because they would allow students to focus solely on the improvement of writing without the distractions or time constraints that we all suffer from during the school semester. Finally, programs outside of the course catalog would allow the College to utilize professors who want to teach writing skills without alienating those professors who do not.
No matter what action the administration chooses to take, student participation will be integral to its success. Students must realize that their poor writing is not their fault; however, it is their responsibility to take advantage of available opportunities for improvement.